Code Red
by MelancholyInsanity2397
Summary: I had just started to leave when I reached for the door; the lights flickered, and then went out. "Code Red, Code Red, we have a security breach." I hear over the intercom. A security breach? Who would ever try to break into the main building of the Academy?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or any of the characters

AN: Been kinda busy lately. Not sure how I feel about continuing this story yet. Enjoy!

Hope's POV

I had just finished up doing some of the papers for the Academy. Another day down, another day alone. I sigh as I look up at my office. My friends are still in stasis. Seven years have gone by, no one else has awoken. I've built up the cities on Pulse, trying to help the refugees from Cocoon. I had just started to leave when I reached for the door; the lights flickered, and then went out.

"Code Red, Code Red, we have a security breach." I hear over the intercom. A security breach? Who would ever try to break into the main building of the Academy? I shake my head at someone's foolishness. I head back to my desk; the emergency red lights have turned on. I sit back down ready to finish up some more paperwork. As I flip through the endless pile, I realize it has been quite some time since the intruder had entered the building. Code Red still was flashing up on the monitors. I scrunch my face up at the notion that the guards have yet to capture someone. Not many people possess the powers to stand up to guards, let alone win and continue on. I remember when we were I'Cie and it seemed that we were unstoppable. Guards were mere pawns, just an obstacle, just a…target. My heart contracts painfully. Those words have been spoken by someone else… I tangle my hands in my hair painfully remembering that person. The one who had shown such great determination, such great courage. She had taught me to be strong, to detach myself for the situation and look at it logically. She had also shown me that someone who seemed so well put together could be crumbling apart inside. I remember the nights in the Gapra Whitewood were I would take post. She would try to sleep, but more so then not she would sit there silently crying. She would never admit it to me, and I never told her I knew. She was accepting the fact that her sister was beyond her reach, beyond her protection. By the time she deemed fit for her to take post again she would have built up her stoic barrier again. Feelings better left unsaid.

"Director!" I hear someone shout, I walk to open the door. As I pull it open I am rushed by at least 10 guards.

"We have a situation, we don't know where they have gone." One of the soldiers says.

"How many are there?"I ask, more curious now.

"Well…there seems to be…only one." Another one says. I scoff ten guards for one person?

"I can take care of this." I walk to the intercom and speak,

"Hello, this is Director Hope Esthiem. No one is sure what your motive is, but I assure you that if you surrender I will come talk with you personally." I hang the intercom up. The guards stare at me as if I've grown a second head.

"Do we know where this person was able to breach security and enter the building?" I ask.

"It seems as if they…originated within the…" The intercom buzzes interrupting him.

"She has surrender, I repeat she has surrender, but she wants to talk to the Director. She hasn't said anything but that." A faceless voice reports. I sigh and begin walking out of the room towards the interrogation rooms that have never been used. The guards rush out after me, and I wave them away. Who would do all this just to talk to me I wonder. As I open the door to the room the intruder is being held in, I am not prepared for what meets my eyes. She was standing in the corner, one leg against the wall, arms across her chest, and a scowl plastered onto her face. Two guards are pointing their guns at her. She sees me. Her lips slightly pull up at the corners. She assets me, looking me over, before walking up to me and smacking me in the face. I pull back the stinging on my cheek surprising me.

"What the hell Light?" I ask her, a scowl now on my face. She grins and shrugs her shoulders.

"Took you long enough to get here. These goons have been pointing their guns at me for a good fifteen minutes." She says as she glares at the guards some more. "On top of that I woke up in a room and as I came out these lackies start screaming at me to stand down. Can you believe it? Me, stand down?" she scoffs at her memory. "So what do you expect of me, to be awaken without any knowledge what year it is, and people threatening to shoot me?" she turns towards me. "And you! The biggest surprise of all. Director Hope Esthiem huh? Looks like I taught you well." She smiles a little again. I'm standing in complete disbelief, after all this time…seven years and now here she is. I shake my head and rub my eyes making sure this is really…real. She frowns at my reaction.

"What, not happy to see me?" she is seething now. Her eyes have lost all hint of playfulness and turned to cold steel. I look up at her. I had forgotten how much she reads into people. How she is able to see things on people's faces that others can't pick out. Am I happy to see her? I scoff in my head, of course I am! I couldn't have asked anything more than for the next person to be awaken would be Lightning Farron.

"No, I'm very happy to see you here Light. I just…can't believe it." I say it. Her face softens just a little. She walks back up to me. I pull her into a hug, tears starting to sting my eyes. She doesn't react at first, but eventually she puts her arms around me as well. It seems like so little time has passed. I laugh silently that I know tower over her, no longer does she look down to me. No longer am I a little kid lost and confused. No longer does she have to protect me…but I can…protect her.

"It's good to have you back Light."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or any of the characters.

AN: Well here is chapter two! Can you believe it? I finally sat down and found some time to do this. Hope you enjoy it. I plan on continuing this story. This chapter is bit dull as I set it up for the rest the story, so enjoy!

"I suppose it's good to be back. Would you mind telling me where I am and how long I've been out?" she asks. I look at her, not sure where to start.

"Well you've been in stasis for seven years. We are in Academia on Pulse. You are the first to wake up beside myself." I reply. Her brow scrunches as she lets this sink in.

"How long…have you been awake?" she asks hesitantly.

"Seven years. They say I was only in stasis for about 2 months before I awoke." I turn to the forgotten guards and signal them to stand down and return to duty.

"This isn't any way to treat one of the saviors of Cocoon." I tell them. I see their eyes widen as they scramble out of the room. Lightning is looking at me. Her face is contorted again with thought.

"You know, if you keep thinking like that your head is going to explode." I say to her. Her scowl deepens and she punches me in the shoulder.

"So if it's been seven years, you're what? 20?" she asks. I turn to her; she seems a lot smaller than I remember.

"21 actually. My birthday was just this year again." I reply. She nods and walks to the door.

"Well I'm starving, seven years without food really gets to you." She says as she walks out the door headed in the wrong direction of the cafeteria.

"Hey Light?" she whips around and looks at me, one eyebrow raised.

"Food is this way." I say as I point down the hallway. She scowls and follows me. After a few paces in silence I can feel the tension begin to rise. She's thinking and debating about what to ask me.

"You can ask anything you want Light." I say. She looks at me and her frown easies a bit.

"So, Serah isn't awake?" she asks. I can hear the hope in her voice and it breaks my heart a little to tell her that she isn't.

"No, just you and me so far. Everyone is still in this building in different rooms. Besides Fang and Vanille of course." I answer. She takes this is for awhile before I glance at her again and see that look of intense concentration back on her face.

"Do you remember what happened to Fang and Vanille?" I ask her. She looks at the ground and then to me.

"All I remember is a blinding light, and then feeling cold and alone." She answers.

"Well Fang and Vanille are holding up Cocoon, in a crystallized pillar. I don't think they will ever wake up again, at least not for a very long time." It hurts to think of never seeing those two again. It hurts to think that I might not ever get to see anyone else, but at least I will have Light around now. This makes the sting a little less and a small smile form on my face.

"Doesn't seem very fair." She replies harshly. It was never a secret Lightning had hated everything l'Cie. I couldn't blame her; it took away her only family and than her changed her entire life in the name of something else. I remember the disgust she would talk about it. How she'd be angry when she learned a new power, and even angrier when someone else did. A lot of the time she would leave and go into the wilderness alone. She'd return hours later looking exhausted but would refuse to sit down and then make us pack up camp and trudge on. These were also days where I'd watch her from afar while she was guarding. The tears marking her cheeks, the way her shoulders would shudder with a silent cry. How she would never wake up the next person on their turn for watch, but sit in silent vigil all night by herself. When the morning would come she'd walk away from us and we knew it was time to keep going. How she kept going I will never know.

We continued on to the cafeteria. As we came closer I noticed how she picked up her pace, the smell must have urged her forward because as we came to the doors she slammed them open and begin to scan the entire place for the best food. I couldn't help but laugh at this, and she noticed.

"What are you laughing at Esthiem?" she growled at me. I couldn't help the next laugh that escaped me either. She was trying to be deadly but all I could read on her face was hungry.

"Never seen you so excited for food." I reply. Her scowl deepens as she huffs and heads for the fried food section. I head over and decide to make a late dinner. Her whole breaking in the Academy from within really screwed up my nightly routine, but I can't complain. As we head towards the check out I look at her plate. Not only is it filled, everything is touching and stacked on top of one another and must weigh a good five pounds. She catches me looking at her food and she frowns.

"I haven't had anything in seven years, cut me some slack." She growls. I just shake my head. We take our seats at my usual table. It isn't until I start looking around that I notice everyone has eyes on us. Lightning is too absorbed in devouring her plate to notice the stares. I glare around the room and as I do people go back to their meals, with us hopefully forgotten. It's true I haven't been the social one at all in my new life. After waking up I felt the need to be a grown up right away and stop messing around. I had grown so much before stasis it seemed stupid to going back to being stupid. I think about work, how that is all it is to me. I was never one to socialize with it but instead I just want to get in and out like everyone else. So I can't blame everyone for staring at me for being in the cafeteria, let alone sitting with someone. Someone extremely beautiful…

"What's with these people?" I look up to see Lightning asking me the question. Her plate is cleared and she seems satisfied.

"I'm not the sociable type. So it surprises them that I'm eating in here with someone." I reply curtly not wanting to continue the talk on my non-existent social life. Lightning just stares at me for a minute before getting up.

"Show me around." It isn't a question, it's an order, and I'm happy to oblige. I take her down the main floor and show her all the stuff that is everywhere, how the building was built on a whim and nothing was planned out. We hadn't been expecting to be able to afford it and then one day and anonymous donation was made and we scrambled to put the building up.

"It isn't very efficient, like say that someone from the Crime Unit needs to go to the morgue, well they have to travel over to the opposite corner of the building and down 6 levels. No one is sure how it ended up being this inefficient, but it's good enough I guess." I explain to her. She walks along in quiet contemplation. We end our makeshift tour at my office. I pack up and begin to say goodbye when I realize she doesn't have anywhere to go. This doesn't seem to have dawned on her either.

"Um, Light? We don't really have anywhere for you to stay right now. I guess the best option is to just come and crash at my house. We can get the rest of this figured out tomorrow." I wasn't sure what to expect. Lightning was always distant, but she was always my best friend in our travels. She looks me over and her brow furrows before she replies.

"I guess you're right." Her frown deepens and I'm dying to know what she is thinking. So I take a chance.

"What are you thinking Light?" I ask her sincerely. Her eyes squint at me and I'm expecting harsh words for a return, but once again she surprises me.

"I guess I'm not sure what to think of all this. Everything I know is gone, and everyone I know, besides you of course. I just thought that from us all saving the world and stuff, we'd get more of a…hero's welcome back. Instead I'm shot at and no one gives a damn about the hell we went through for them. It was really just selfish thinking in general I suppose though." She answers me. Her actual thoughts and I feel honored for her to have shared them with me. I can't help the smile that crosses my face.

"It's really good to have you back Lightning. Did you miss driving?" I ask her. She looks at me and a small smile forms on her face.

"I hate driving actually." This cracks me up. I bust up laughing at her and that ever present scowl is slapped onto her face again.

"What's so damn funny?" she snaps at me.

"Only you could hate driving. What don't you like about it?" I ask her, having somewhat recovered myself.

"It's boring, and expensive and other people are stupid." She answers curtly. I roll my eyes and open the passenger door for her.

"M'lady." I smirk at her. She glares at me and smacks me in the head before climbing in. I climb in on the drivers side and start it up. The car ride is pretty silent. It's not that unbearable deathly silence though. Just the comfortable one. As I pull up to my apartment complex I see Lightning staring at it in wonder.

"They must really pay you good for Director huh?" she asks in awe. I shrug my shoulders and step out of the car.

"It defiantly has its benefits." I reply. I take us up to the top floor, the penthouse to be honest. As I open up the door Lightning dosen't step in. She just stands outside and stares in.

"It's home Light, come in." I say. She shakes her head and steps in. My apartment is quite nice. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and all the up to date appliances and everything else. The main room has the vaulted ceilings and a wall of windows that overlooks Academia. Hardwood runs throughout, and the furniture is sheik and modern.

"Your room is down the hall, only room on the left." I say as I unpack my stuff onto the island in the kitchen. She takes a few steps down the hall and into her room. I decide not to hover and let her get comfortable. A few moments later she comes back into the kitchen and helps me.

"You pack lunch?" she looks at me quizzically. I nod at her.

"I don't like the cafeteria." Is my reply. She nods in understanding. As I pack my microwavable lunch and junk food I see her frown become deeper and deeper.

"That's disgusting Hope. I can't let you eat like that." She takes all my food out the box and puts it all back from where I took it from.

"What am I suppose to eat?" I ask her. She rolls her eyes at me.

"Go sit down, or get ready for bed, let me worry about that." She replies in that ask no questions voice. I sigh and trudge down to my room. As I shower and get ready for bed it really hits me that Lightning Farron is staying in my house. A smile crosses my face and in the first time for awhile I don't feel so alone. I walk into the kitchen to see if my lunch has been packed. Inside the box sits a homemade pot-pie, an apple, soy sauce green beans, water, and a candy bar. I smirk at the lunch, it's so Lightning, making sure you get all the main food groups. I hear the pad of footsteps coming down the hall and look up to see her. I think my heart stops for a moment. She is standing in front of me with a tank top and a pair of shorts she must have found in the extra bedroom. Her hair is down her one shoulder like always and she's leaning against the wall. She has just a hint of a smile on her face.

"I'm think I'm going to sleep." Is all she says. I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her. She stiffens for a second before tentatively wrapping her arms around me as well.

"Thanks for the lunch, I'm so happy you're awake." I whisper to her.

"You're welcome." And with that she lets me go and walks away. As she reaches her door she turns around and says to me,

"It's nice to have you. Goodnight Hope." This sends some pitter-patter through my heart and I tell her goodnight as well. As I head to bed I can't keep the grin off my face.


End file.
